President Donald Trump looks on as military strikes are launched against Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis over the group's attacks against Red Sea shipping, at an unspecified location in this handout image released March 15, 2025.
The United States launched widespread strikes on the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen on Saturday, killing 53 people and injuring 98 as it targeted military sites and a power station in the rebel group’s southwest stronghold. The attacks were the largest US military operation since President Donald Trump returned to office.
“To Iran: Support for the Houthi terrorists must end IMMEDIATELY! Do NOT threaten the American People, their President, who has received one of the largest mandates in Presidential History, or Worldwide shipping lanes,” Trumpposted on social. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged the US to halt the airstrikes, while Gen. Hossein Salami denied that Iran was involved in Houthi offensives.
The United States has been part of a Saudi-led coalition that has fought the Houthis since 2014, but tensions have been especially frayed ever since the Yemenite rebel group started ambushing Israeli ships that passed through the Red Sea shortly after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, disrupting a hefty portion of global trade. There has been calm in the region ever since Israel and Hamas brokered a ceasefire deal in January, but the Houthis on Tuesday said they would restart their guerilla campaign on the water.
Don’t expect a truce soon: Once the leader of the coalition against the Houthis, Saudi Arabia now seems to be on the sidelines, leaving the US to lead the fight against the Iran-aligned group — and the Trump administration has pledged to continue strikes over the next few days. The Houthi resistance has been stubborn for some time, and the militants have promised to retaliate, so the Americans might have their work cut out as they seek to maintain a vital shipping pipeline.
“A few days of strikes will probably not bring about an end to the Houthis’ attacks,” counterterrorism expert Thomas S. Warrickwrote. “Unless the Trump administration is prepared to go even further.”
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Iranian pro-government protesters wave national flags while participating in an anti-war protest gathering against the U.S. and Israeli military attacks in Iran, in Tehran, Iran, on February 28, 2026.
The US and Israel struck several sites in coordinated attacks across Iran this morning. The total number of casualties across Iran is also unknown, though one of the missiles hit a girls’ school in Iran, reportedly killing 53 people.
The United States and Israel have launched massive military strikes on Iran. The stated goal: dismantle Iran’s nuclear program and ballistic missile capabilities. The unstated but increasingly clear objective: regime change. In this Quick Take, Ian Bremmer breaks down what this means.
The US and Israel have launched a series of strikes against Iran at a moment when the Islamic Regime is at its weakest. Ian Bremmer spoke with Iran expert Karim Sadjadpour in Munich earlier this month to understand the choices the regime and population are facing.